5 ways texting screws you up

Medical experts at the University of Queensland, Australia have studied the impact of texting.

Credit: Metro File Photo

If you’re prone to losing your balance and bumping into things, overactive thumbs may be to blame.

Medical experts at the University of Queensland, Australia have studied the impact of texting and walking, and discovered it is an unnatural motion that "may undermine functional walking and impact on safety in common pedestrian environments." No one wants a funny walk, or to be bumped into, but if doctors really wanted to scare us about texting they could have mentioned what else studies have found it can do.

Texting can make you a drug addict

A class of pathological "hyper texters" were more likely to dabble in sex, drugs and alcohol at an early age, according to a 2010 study with U.S. students. Researchers discovered the same patterns of competitive and compulsive behavior, whether it applied to the phone or the bottle.

Texting can trap you in permanent adolescence

Psychologists discovered that texting threatened two key aspects of the maturing process – separation from parents and peace to form an identity. Excessive texting can also prevent children from developing social skills, and although older people may already have these skills, they can be damaged.

Texting can cause fatal car accidents

You are 23 times more likely to have an accident if you text while driving, a practice that kills 11 teenagers a day in the U.S. It causes six times more accidents and injuries than drunk driving — yet almost half of under-18s admit to still doing it.

Texting can cause insomnia

Constant messaging has been cited as a leading contributor to poor sleep quality in school students, which is linked to burning out and and effects on the emotional wellbeing. Adults are also conditioned by their phones to be responsive at all times, leading to the strange phenomenon of "sleep-texting," which must be confusing for everyone.

Texting can ruin your thumb and neck

The contorted position many text in led to the discovery of "text neck," as users suffered strains and pains that were permanent in some cases. "Text thumb" is a repetitive strain injury (RSI) that disables the user and prevents them from gripping.